Travel agents have a standard response when their clients ask for
advice before embarking on an excursion overseas: Take half as many
clothes and twice as much money as you planned."

The axiom takes a different twist when your destination is the SHOT
Show: "Plan twice as much before you leave and expect to return
with three bags of sales literature ,,

Admit it, many of you approach the SHOT Show as if it were a
holiday shopping spree. If only our mates could see thousands of
normally mature, responsible businessmen thundering through a crazed
convention center exhibition hall, feverishly stuffing plastic bags with
colorful literature expounding the virtues of battery heated
socks,portable fish smokers and camouflaged toilet paper.

Hey, the SHOT Show is an event, a happening and a once a year
opportunity to renew friendships, make new ones and generally celebrate
this great industry that we find so challenging and rewarding.

The serious business of the SHOT Show can be easily overshadowed by
the joyous distractions. Dallas and Las Vegas are vibrant, exciting
towns. Our hosts are gracious and lavish us with attention. Industry
leaders host every variety of social event, from western-style cookouts
to formal award banquets. These events are worthwhile and serve an
important function in the modern business tradition.

A note of caution in this atmosphere of merriment - remember your
mission. As a prospective buyer much of your work should be accomplished
prior to packing your suitcase. Your preparation should focus on
inventory. Ask yourself, what has sold, what has not and what might?
Careful accounting should answer the first two questions, leaving the
third to be researched at the SHOT Show.

Arrive in Dallas with a plan, one that is flexible to opportunities
that might arise or adjustments that must be made If rifle and handgun
ammunition sold well in your store, then placing orders for more is a
priority. Make a list of the companies you want to visit. If possible,
determine who you should ask for at the booth. The sates representative
who calls on your store is an excellent resource. He can supply you with
a name and possibly set up an appointment. Use the year's worth of
information you have compiled since the last SHOT Show to assist you in
setting an agenda. Four days seem to zip by in a heartbeat. Remember the
reaction you had when you walked into the exhibition hall last year in
Las Vegas. The vastness of the facility and the lightening pace of
activity was nearly overwhelming.

Preparation will give you a focus, the chance to manage and
maximize your time. You may wish to roam the hall during the first day,
familiarizing yourself with the locations of the company exhibits you
will visit later.

Some buyers are more comfortable meeting with company
representatives in the morning, leaving the afternoon for prospecting
potential new products.

Remember, your well thought out schedule may be victimized by
circumstance. Your 9 a.m. meeting with the regional sales representative
from ABC Firearms Company might be postponed when Mr. Bigtime, the new
Vice President of Marketing, calls an emergency training seminar.

Leaving the afternoon open may allow the meeting to be rescheduled
later in the day The apologetic sales rep will gladly pull out the
company credit card and talk business over lunch.

Let's say you are investigating the profitability of expanding
your store's line to include outdoor apparel and footwear. Find out
if any of your local competitors are carrying clothing. Tell your sates
rep the brand names that appear to be moving and add these companies and
a contact name to your SHOT Show "hit list."

Visit all the apparel exhibits before you place an order. Listening
to sales pitches, gathering dealer price lists and kicking tires"
will give you a better feel for the marketplace.

An organized, planned strategy will make your SHOT Show experience
valuable and profitable, allowing you to accomplish your mission and
still enjoy all the entertainment that this great even offers.

COPYRIGHT 1990 Publishers' Development Corporation
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.